ITCYLITCOTRGC CH 05

“The young master and young lady of House Roha have arrived!”

I entered the ballroom holding my older brother’s hand. The magnificent ballroom was brightly illuminated, and the moment we stepped inside, people began flocking toward Shasha.

There were young ladies who greeted him with flushed cheeks.

“Master Roha, it’s been a long time.”

And friends who approached him as though they were old acquaintances.

“Alexandro! Why did you take so long to get here?”

Shasha tried to stay by my side, but being popular was always troublesome. Before I knew it, he had been swept away by the crowd, and the distance between us grew.

I cheerfully waved at him.

‘Good. Now it’s time for me to slip away too.’

That was when it happened.

I turned around and bumped straight into a man standing right behind me.

“Oh! Are you all right, Lady Roha?”

“Ah, yes. I’m fi—fine.”

Inwardly, I cursed him for standing in such a ridiculous place, but outwardly, I lowered my eyes demurely and nodded like a shy young lady.

The man I had bumped into was the young master of House Jericho.

I found him rather unpleasant because he had a habit of bumping into me or approaching me like this.

I had no idea what he wanted, but whenever I met him, he had a remarkable talent for making me feel disgusted. His snake-like eyes always seemed to be looking me up and down.

For a moment, I glanced toward Shasha, but he was so surrounded by people that he didn’t seem to have any time to pay attention to me.

“Are you looking for my brother? Shall I take you to him?”

Treating me like I was some five-year-old child.

I really hated the way Young Master Jericho acted so arrogantly while saying such things.

“No, I’m fine. Hoho. Since you’re being so excessively kind, it’s only natural that your fiancée would be worried.”

A few days ago, I had heard a rumor that he had gotten into a huge argument with his fiancée, Lady Kore.

The moment I subtly brought up the matter, Young Master Jericho’s face turned bright red.

“I cannot agree that kindness can be described as ‘excessive.’ But if you find me uncomfortable, then, well…”

He tried hard to sound calm, but I had heard that his engagement with House Kore had nearly been called off entirely.

It only made him look pathetic to me.

“Yes. I’ll accept your kind intentions, Young Master Jericho. But I’m rather busy, so I’ll be going now.”

His eyes blatantly lingered around my chest as I spoke, sending chills down my spine, but I turned away as though I hadn’t noticed.

Without evidence, I couldn’t exactly teach that delinquent the lesson that real life wasn’t a game.

It was annoying.

My mood had soured, but I deliberately shifted my thoughts to the book hidden in my clothes.

A little later, while Shasha was busy talking with his friends, I slipped away into the corridor.

Skipping out on social gatherings was my specialty.

From years of experience, I knew that rooms near the ballroom weren’t particularly good choices. Couples looking for a private place to meet could wander in at any moment.

So I walked down the seemingly endless corridor, going well past the middle.

Only after walking quite a distance did I find a room I liked.

Creak.

When I opened the door, there was a cozy-looking sofa inside, and a fire was burning in the fireplace, as though someone had only just been there.

It was practically a room made for me.

The warm air pleasantly thawed my body, which had become slightly chilled from the cold.

“Good, good. Hmm-hmm-hmm.”

This was the moment I had been waiting for.

Excitedly, I removed the brooch from my shawl and started humming.

Humming while I talked was one of my habits from my previous life.

Although calling it a habit from my previous life was a little unfair. It was practically something every adult Korean naturally picked up.

“Hmm-hmm. I’m sorry to my brother, buuut~ a homebody warrior like me doesn’t need a husband, hmm-hmm. Shall we take out the book? Hohoho. Shall we read it really, really quickly?”

I wrapped the shawl around my legs and stretched out sideways across the sofa.

“This is paradise on earth. Indeed.”

Hehe.

I giggled as I proudly pulled the book from between the front of my off-shoulder dress.

“Hmm-hmm-hmm. The new book by Writer Alji! Isn’t it wonderful? So exciting, right?”

Chuckling, I dusted off the cover of the book.

“Let’s begin reading The Demon Duke Is Obsessed with Me. Hehehe!”

I indulged in my humming to my heart’s content, the very habit Shasha hated most, and opened the book.

Then I became completely absorbed in it.

I had bought the novel last time and only managed to read a little before putting it on my bookshelf. I had been saving it specifically for today.

I carefully turned the pages one by one.

The writing was so good that I completely forgot whether I was in my own house or the Imperial Palace.

The descriptions were so vivid that it felt as though I were actually seeing the scenes unfold before my eyes. I swallowed nervously as I turned each page.

By the time I reached the final page, I simply surrendered myself to the waves of emotion.

I had no idea how much time had passed. Almost all the firewood in the fireplace had burned away, and the flames had weakened considerably.

I had just stood up to put more wood into the fireplace when—

Hehehe.

A strange chuckling sound came from somewhere.

But the door was closed.

Thinking it might be a ghost, I felt a chill run through me and screamed.

“What! What is that?! Who’s there?”

But all I could hear was that strange laughter. No one appeared anywhere.

I hurriedly wrapped my shawl around my shoulders and pressed myself into the corner of the room.

If necessary, I planned to bolt straight through the door.

I cautiously crept toward the door and looked around the room again.

Only then did I notice the room’s unusual layout, which I had failed to see when I first entered.

Unlike the ordinary rectangular shape I had assumed it had, the room actually extended farther inward in an L-shape.

‘Oh no…’

The laughter had come from there.

Apparently, someone had already been in this room before I arrived.

My face burned with embarrassment.

This was the first time anyone had ever caught me so completely unguarded—the version of myself that I absolutely never wanted other people to see.

The chuckling stopped.

I slowly approached the sofa.

‘Calm down. If I get out before that person sees me, everything will be fine.’

There was an old saying that even if you were carried away by a tiger, you could survive as long as you kept your wits about you.

So I reminded myself to stay calm and checked my escape route.

Step 1. Quickly grab the book and shawl.

Step 2. Quietly but swiftly run to the door.

Step 3. Go out into a garden somewhere, fix my clothes, and return to the ballroom.

Perfect.

Except for the book that fell to the floor with a thud when I pulled on the shawl.

The noise was far louder than necessary in the silent room.

I revised my plan.

Step 0. Grab everything and escape immediately.

The noise must have been clearly audible even in the inner part of the room.

Feeling as though I were being chased, I grabbed my shawl and book and dashed toward the door.

I was almost there.

Just before my hand could reach the doorknob, I saw it turn in slow motion.

Standing on the other side was that delinquent young master of House Jericho.

Unable to stop my momentum, I crashed straight into him.

Young Master Jericho seemed startled by my sudden appearance, but fortunately, I didn’t send him tumbling to the floor.

“Lady Roha…?”

“Shh!”

He had no idea that there was someone else inside the room, yet he was carelessly calling my name.

I politely gestured for him to keep quiet.

Perhaps understanding my gesture, his voice gradually faded until it was low enough that whoever was deeper inside the room probably couldn’t hear him.

Relieved, I tried to hurry away.

But Young Master Jericho wasn’t about to let me go that easily.

He looked down at me and began smiling slyly.

“Well, well. I never imagined such a daring dress was hiding beneath that shawl.”

Startled by his words, I quickly covered my shoulders with the shawl.

Young Master Jericho seemed to think that I had been engaged in some shameful activity with someone and was now trying to sneak away.

His next words proved that my previous impression of him had been completely accurate.

“If I’d known, I suppose I should have taken a number and waited my turn.”

“What are you talking about? Please move aside!”

“A young lady without even a fiancé engaging in such a bold display of affection…”

It was dangerous for him to keep talking when neither of us knew who might be inside the room.

I tried to pull my hand away with a smile, but Young Master Jericho wouldn’t release my arm.

“Let go. Lady Kore might misunderstand if she sees this.”

“My fiancée is in the ballroom right now, so you don’t have to worry.”

The way he looked at me made my skin crawl.

Avoiding his gaze, I spoke more firmly.

“Let me go.”

“I don’t think I can do that.”

“Let go of me!”

What was this?

Was he deliberately behaving like some cheap thug?

Did he think that because he belonged to a count’s family, he could treat a viscount’s daughter like me however he pleased?

I was furious, but because I was worried about the person inside the room, I lowered my voice.

However, seeing me do that only made Young Master Jericho bolder.

He had obviously misunderstood my reluctance to make a scene as proof that I had something to hide.

“So there really is someone in that room, isn’t there? Someone you want to keep secret, perhaps. Very well. I’ll keep your secret for you, so why don’t you and I…”

Why don’t you and I what?

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

My head began spinning.

Everyone in my family had always treated me like a precious treasure, as though I might blow away if they breathed too hard or break if they loosened their grip.

I had never experienced such insulting words and behavior before.

Should I just scream?

I hesitated for a moment.

If there hadn’t been a man inside the room, I probably wouldn’t have held back.

No, I definitely wouldn’t have.

There was a universal law that if you stayed quiet, people would mistake you for a doormat.

If I didn’t teach Young Master Jericho a lesson for looking down on me and treating me so carelessly, I felt like I might explode.

‘Should I? Or shouldn’t I?’

Just as I was about to lose my temper completely, an unexpected person pulled me away from Young Master Jericho.

“Let go of her hand.”

The voice came from inside the room.

Young Master Jericho slowly turned his gaze toward the back of me.